Thousands of recycled wine bottles being used in Victor Harbor Road duplication

The $685m Main South and Victor Harbor Rd upgrade isn’t just a highway duplication – it’s also another massive project.

The winemakers of McLaren Vale are pouring their own personal touch into the Victor Harbor Rd duplication in an unconventional way.

Recycled wine bottles from the local makers are being used in the road project, which includes a new four-way, two-lane roundabout at Robinson Rd and the realignment of Quarry Rd.

The first section of permanent asphalt – containing 10 per cent recycled bottles – has now been laid for the duplication of Victor Harbor Rd.

Asphalting started from the northern end of Victor Harbor Road at Main South Road and progressed south until completion in mid-February.

The 4km stretch of the new southbound roadway used 15,000 tonnes of asphalt, with the equivalent of 459 wine bottles for every tonne of the base layer.

A further 115 bottles will be in every tonne of the top layer of the road.

Sherrah Wines owner Alex Sherrah supports the idea, which will potentially see his old bottles be used for the new section of road.

Recycled wine bottles from McLaren Vale winemaker Alex Sherrah are being used in the new Victor Harbor Rd. Picture: Emma Brasier

“I think it’s a pretty good idea and everybody is happy when something is being recycled,” Mr Sherrah, 45, said.

He said the initiative would re-use glass from bottles that would have otherwise been wasted.

His wine bottles already contained some recycled material.

“When they make the new wine bottles they use a portion of recycled glass,” he said.

“They’ve gotta do something with the rest of it.”

He joked the initiative was a good fit for his business due to the appearance of his bottles.

“My label is actually terrazzo so it almost looks like a road with crushed glass. It’ll be a good little factoid to tell people,” he said. “We’re paving the roads to our businesses.”

The recycled wine bottles used for the asphalt will be collected from yellow waste bins and local councils in the region while the crushed glass will be supplied by Southern Materials Recovery Facility, a recycling business in nearby Seaford Heights.

The state and federal governments have committed $685m for the road project, which includes the duplication of Main South Rd.